


Dog Pats

by KUR4M4



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hatake Kakashi Needs a Hug, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Naru likes Hinata's hair, Naruto wants dogs, Parent Hatake Kakashi, Red-Haired Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27757747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KUR4M4/pseuds/KUR4M4
Summary: Hatake Kakashi witness's a young Naruto getting hit by civilians and decides to fuck whatever the Sandiame says and adopt the red haired boy. Hopefully Kushina-nee won't hurt him too badly for taking this long to sort his shit out, he hopes but a feeling tells him he's wrong.Or : 20-year-old Kakashi has only raised dogs and so does the same for Naruto, it turns out he needs a lot of help
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Mitarashi Anko, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 13
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

The sky was like a painting. Bright and dull colours hung above Konoha, decorating the Hidden Village with the sunset behind the Hokage Mountain. Rays of the disappearing sun was all the Hatake Kakashi could use to read his orange covered book, giggling silently behind it at the words on the page. The few shinobi and civilians who passed him gave the same look of disdain at the Icha Icha novel, rolling their eyes and muttering profanities under their breath thinking that the man couldn't hear them. He snorted at one obscenity used to describe him as he took a turn down one dirt road. _People were really coming up with new ways to insult one of his hobbies,_ he remarked silently as he turned over a page.

Slowing down slightly, the Copy-Nin immediately realised where his wandering had led him and it made him ache. He had to shut his only visible eye tightly so no one around him would think he was on the verge of tears. _Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee’s home, my home._ Letting his shoulders slump, Kakashi opened his grey eye once again and stared at the rundown house before him.

No one had done anything to it, the building looking similar to the day his last two precious people were taken from him. The day the Kyuubi attacked and took many lives down with it. The house hadn’t been touched ever since – no one wanting to put it up for sale or use it since it belonged to the deceased Yondaime Hokage, it would have been blatant disrespect. He remembered practically growing up there after becoming Namikaze Minato’s pupil along with his father’s suicide. The silver-haired man could still feel Uzumaki Kushina’s arms wrapping around his smaller frame and declaring him to call her his sister. His thoughts then drifted off to a small red-haired boy living in Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki but most importantly Sensei’s son. The pain inside his chest grew at this, making the 20-year-old raise a hand and fingers curl around the shirt above his heart. It hurt so much and he wanted it to go away. He wanted everything to go away.

“There it is! Quick, don’t let is get away!” At first, the off duty ANBU thought it was just a Genin team chasing after that cat, Tora, which happened every day. It was known as the demon cat for a reason, after all (being the same cat he had chased when a Genin himself and no one still knew how it had lived so long). However, that changed when cheers accompanied afterwards and many fully grown civilians came barrelling down one side of the road. It seemed they were chasing after something red, bright red. It only hit Kakashi that it was Naruto when all the people had gone down one alleyway. Only that boy had vibrant red hair in Konoha, especially since Kushina-nee was dead.

They were after Naruto.

Naruto, the boy who didn’t deserve this.

_Fuck the Sandaime and his orders,_ was all Kakashi thought as he made a split-second decision.

Breaking out into a sprint, the man shoved his Icha Icha Paradise book into his pouch in one motion. Clasping his hands together, he performed the needed hand signs for a Shunshin, disappearing from the spot he was in. Almost immediately, he reappeared in front of the crowd of civilians.

They all stopped yelling, watching with curious eyes as the well-known A-Rank Ninja. His one eye surveyed them all with clear warning, _take one step and you might not live much longer to tell the tale._ A few civilians made the wise decision to get out of the alley before they thought Kakashi would notice them – he rolled his eye at that as he felt their miniscule chakra leave. He committed every face to memory, ready to send them all down to T&I with a wave. The shinobi was sure the specialists down there would love to make an example of these. Especially Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Definitely those two.

“What are you all doing?” Was all that Kakashi asked, silence following after his only words.

A few civilians gulped, others visibly sweating at being under threat from one of their top ninjas. He could clearly see one of them try to hide the small knife they were holding under their clothes, making his entire body freeze. They were really planning on severely hurting the 6-year-old boy behind him. Relief flooded through his veins, realising he (for once in his life) had made the right choice. Kakashi noticed other chakra signatures join from up above on the roof nearby, ANBU had arrived. The masked man flared his own to them – telling them he had everything under control and to not do anything.

One shouted out,” Let us past! We are going to kill the demon who murdered our Yondaime!” A man came stumbling out of the crowd, obvious signs of drunkenness all over himself. The civilian tried to walk past Kakashi. Only to get pulled back and shoved into the crowd by the collar of his shirt. “What do you think your doing? Don’ you want him dead too?”

Kakashi only shook his head at them before sending out a small amount of the rage he was feeling towards the people before him. Almost all of them began running away, looking back in fear of the man and his Killing Intent. He stopped it once they were all gone, letting out a sigh as he turned around to see the small, malnourished child behind him. He quickly noticed the big purple and blue bruise on his cheek, making him want to go find whoever did this and make sure they suffered for doing this. The next thing he picked up on was how much Naruto was shaking, almost like a leaf, his mind supplied. The final thing was his eyes. Those blue eyes, the exact same shade of his sensei’s that made him want to look away guiltily. The only thing that was different between Minato-sensei and Naruto’s was that the boy before him was staring at him in fear – almost as if he expected Kakashi himself to continue the torment.

The ninja slowly crouched, reaching the other’s short height. “N-Naruto, I’m not going to hurt you,” He whispered out, silently cursing himself for stuttering. He found it hard to look into those bright blue eyes.

Naruto stared back in sheer fear, backing up slightly. The red-haired boy could feel the familiarity with this masked man, he reminded him of those funny masked people who were always near him, but adrenaline filled his system and didn’t allow him to think properly. He shut his eyes tightly, feeling the many eyes above still there and watching. It them hit him. Why this guy in front of him was so familiar? He was one of those guys with a funny mask that watched him. Eyes snapping open again, the boy let out a choked,” Inu-san?”

Kakashi stiffened. A few thoughts ran through his head, the main one was how did he know who he was when in ANBU gear. Dismissing those thoughts for another moment, the silver haired man nodded, his only visible eye smiling. “Yep, that’s me, Naruto,” He answered,” Can I come any closer?”

When the boy didn’t reply with anything, Kakashi carefully stepped closer making sure the 6-year-old could see all his movement. Naruto needed to know he was safe; he wasn’t going to be hurt anymore now that all those had run off. The poor boy needed to feel comforted and see that Kakashi wasn’t going to do anything bad towards him. His heart ached when Naruto flinched back from contact, making him drop his hand and stop moving any closer.

“Are you okay, Naruto?”

“M-My face really hurts, Inu-san,” The redhead could feel tears building up in his eyes as he finally told the person what had happened,” A lady g-got angry at me when I went into her s-shop. I j-jus’ wanted to get some food, y’know, and then s-she hit me really, really hard. Then lots, an’ lots are chasing me and yellin’ and calling me a-a-a demon and m-monster.” Tears ran down his cheeks, over his whisker birthmarks on his face.

It was then, at that very moment Hatake Kakashi had decided what he was going to do. He just prayed and begged to whatever gods existed in the universe that it was the right choice and he hopefully wouldn’t regret it at all (Kakashi knew he jinxed himself a lot but this was one time he begged for something to go his way).

“You’re not a demon or a monster, Naruto, you’re the one who’s going to become Hokage, isn’t that right? Let’s go to the Hokage,” Kakashi stood up to his full height,” I need to speak with him.” Naruto seemed even smaller now that he was standing back up at his normal height, Kakashi didn’t even think he was that small when he was the Uzumaki’s age. Clearly a lot of things were wrong with how Naruto was living. Why would he have to buy his own food if he lived at the orphanage? Why did Naruto look so small and malnourished? His mind told him why, but a part of him hoped Minato-sensei’s son wasn’t as badly treated as all the signs pointed towards. He really thought the Sandaime would make sure Naruto was well looked after, especially since Kakashi had stopped taking watches over Naruto almost a few months ago now and gone on more important ones for Konoha.

“Can you place a hand on me, Naruto?” The Copy-Ninja asked the boy who looked up in fright (okay, definitely afraid of physical contact),” I only need to use a Jutsu so we can teleport to the Sandaime and then you can let go, is that okay?” The redhead took a few moments before nodded in silence. One of his hands shakily reached up, touching his leg. Kakashi didn’t do anything sudden, slowly placing his hands together before Shunshining right into the middle of the Hokage’s office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced up, eyes widening at seeing one of his ninjas who he specifically told not to go close to Naruto. If anyone were to find out the connection of the boy’s parents because Kakashi wasn’t careful, it would only spell out bad news. That was why he had told the man before him to have no contact with the red-haired boy, under any circumstances. He felt slight anger towards his own shinobi for not following orders but when looking at Naruto and seeing a huge bruise on his face, all that emotions left and was replaced by worry for the young child.

“Naruto, what happened?” Hiruzen asked as he placed down the papers he was holding, watching as the boy almost ducked behind Kakashi’s legs to hide from him,” Who did this to you?”

“A shop owner,” Kakashi could barely keep the anger out of his voice,” I found Naruto being chased by a mob of civilians who wanted to hurt him badly. If I didn’t get there in time, there was no saying what would have happened. One had a knife, for Kami’s sake. The ANBU assigned to guard him must be new, they didn’t arrive until a minute later.”

Naruto smiled slightly as he picked at his nails nervously,” Yeah, Jiji. Inu-san saved me.”

Hiruzen raised his eyebrows at this. “How does he know your ANBU name, Kakashi? No one is supposed to know who you are in the ANBU; you understand that?”

Kakashi didn’t know how to reply. He didn’t even know how Naruto knew himself, how was he supposed to explain it to his own Hokage. Luckily, it seemed as if the red-haired boy didn’t mind speaking up again. “I just d-did, Inu-san felt familiar, like all those other goofy masks! I’m not in trouble, am I, Jiji?” Tears, for the second time in the past half an hour, built up in his blue eyes but the Sandaime Hokage quickly shook his head in denial.

“Do you think he could be a natural sensor?” The Third Hokage muttered, glancing towards his subordinate for his own opinion. The silver haired man didn’t do anything for a second before nodding. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched up his nose – Kakashi would never admit how cute he found him in that moment despite the bruise on his cheek, no one would ever know that Kakashi of the Sharingan thought a kid could be cute, no one would know he weakness, never – as he listened to the conversation.

“He recognised me as Inu instead of anything else, I’ve only ever interacted with him as Inu,” Kakashi said. Somehow, Naruto had been able to recognise his chakra and unconsciously think that he wasn’t a threat, even without wearing the usual dog mask he had when on duty. It was advanced, especially for a 6-year-old and especially for one without any guidance or training. 

The older man only sighed as he massaged his forehead gently,” That can be dealt with another day. Kakashi, you’re free to go, I’ll get the orphanage worker down here to pick Naruto up.” At these words, the shinobi could feel the 6-year-old boy tense dramatically from behind him.

“About that, Hokage-sama, I would like Naruto to live with me now.” Nobody spoke. Naruto looked up at him in wonder while Hiruzen frowned. Kakashi could feel the sweat rolling down his neck, already knowing the outcome and will to try and change it.

“Kakashi, I cannot allow that. First of all, that would require you to adopt Naruto, which I doubt you would want to-!”

“I’ll adopt him,” Kakashi pushed,” I am not leaving Naruto where if he goes outside, he is chased like an animal. Naruto told me he was out because he was buying his own food, why should he have to do that if the orphanage feeds him? Why is he so malnourished? Are the orphanage workers even caring for Naruto? I won’t let this go one any longer, I’m not going to let my guilt from that day hold me back from looking after a kid who should’ve know me from the day he was born!”

Hiruzen was about to yell at him to stop speaking, not wanting the young boy in the room to find out who his parents were, when Naruto then gripped onto Kakashi’s pant leg. “Y-You knew my mum and dad?” He then seemed to realise what he was doing and let go, stumbling backwards a few small steps.

“Kakashi, you do realise what could happen if you adopt Naruto? If he knew everything? Would you be willing to lay down you own life for his own?” The Sandaime pressured, leaning forwards in his seat, as he stared down the 20-year-old ANBU shinobi,” That’s what will happen, you understand?”

The Copy-Ninja nodded and watched as the red-haired boy’s face broke out into shock. “Naruto, do you want this?” Naruto turned to the Sandaime and smiled widely, showing off a small gap in the front of his teeth.

“Yeah, Inu-san can protect me! When I become Hokage then I’ll protect him! Can we be friends then? I’ve never had a friend, y’know,” Naruto excitedly went onto a small rant, his chakra bubbling happily a he continued,” Maybe we could play in the park and do those cool games all the other kids do! Like play ninja or climb trees! This is gonna be so fun!”

Kakashi knelt down at Naruto’s height,” You don’t have to call me Inu. My name’s Hatake Kakashi.”

“And I’m Uzumaki Naruto, y’know, future Hokage!”

Hiruzen watched with amusement fully in his old eyes. He leant back into his chair, letting them speak between themselves for a while longer. It was only minutes later did he speak up and interrupt them,” Now, Kakashi, could you come back tomorrow and by then I’ll have all the adoption papers ready by noon. Naruto can stay with you tonight as well, though you will have to go to the orphanage to collect all of his belongings today.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi nodded, letting Naruto have a moment to calm down,” I’ll also inform the people who work there of this, just in case.” However, he had a small inkling they hadn’t even realised Naruto was gone.

“Kakashi,” The Third Hokage held some sadness when he spoke,” I believe both you and Naruto will be able to help each other if everything plays out right, and I’m hoping it does, but if this does end up going on a worse path Naruto will be taken out of your custody faster than you adopted him. You and I both understand how important he is for the Hidden Village in the Leaves so if anything happens to him, you will be the one to answer for it. Is this all understood, Hatake?” The threat was evident, clear to everyone in the room par Naruto (who was still jumping about in circles yelling out who knew what).

“I understand, Hokage-sama,” The Copy-Nin repeated through gritted teeth, bowing to his leader before going to speak with Naruto. A few more words were exchanged and Naruto was told to grab a hold of Kakashi again. He looked uneasy but nodded anyway, a now again shaky hand pressing against his leg. Nodding respectfully once more towards the Sandaime Hokage, Kakashi used to hand signs for a Shunshin and disappeared with Naruto. All that was left was the leaves floating down onto the floor.

_Naruto, I do hope you can help Kakashi. He needs it just as much as you do._

_Kakashi, please protect Naruto how I was unable to._

Hiruzen sighed loudly as he watched the new mess on his floor. “This is the tenth time today one of my shinobi has done this! Stop getting leaves all over my office!” He yelled out, ignoring the clear amusement of his ANBU guards up hiding in the rafts away from sight.


	2. Chapter 2

_“Get back here!” A blurred face yelled at him,” No one’s going to save you this time!” Crowds followed behind the blurry man, their faces exactly like his. All of them were holding assortments of weapons, ranging from a measly kitchen knife to massive things Naruto didn’t know the names of but knew it would be too painful if he got touched by one of them despite his fast healing rate._

_Naruto tried to run faster but one look behind at the mob clearly showed he was only getting slower. It was like this every time; they would always catch him and it hurt. It always hurt. It felt as though he was running through water, not making any progress and only taking a small step at a time. His heart hammered against his ribs screaming at him to hurry up or soon it would stop beating all together._

_Out of nowhere, a hand reached around his neck and pulled him harshly backwards. Naruto went stumbling, crashing down to the ground in a small heap. His ears weren’t working properly, he could barely hear anything going on around him. What was happening? Opening his eyes, he noticed many feet and rolling onto his back he stared at those menacing eyes. Everyone all wore those same eyes, that look of hatred. All blaming him for something, something he didn’t even know._

_One of the people lifted the dagger in their hand and thrust it down into his stomach, making the red-haired boy scream out in pain. He felt as though he was dying, pain moving all over his body as the knife was pulled back out of his body, blood coating the entirety of it. As he kept wailing, Naruto could hear the faint noise of someone saying something to him. It came out in parts, all messed up beyond recognition and the boy couldn’t tell if it was someone who wanted to see him suffer or another._

“-ake…Na-…-p!”

_Naruto made eye contact with one of the civilians shrouded in shadows, the only visible part of them their eyes. The cold, blood-red eyes with slits as pupils. It felt as almost he were gazing upon an animal than a human. The 6-year-old didn’t drop, he wouldn’t lose the only thing he could see. Everyone else was blurred out apart from these gruelling eyes. The eyes of a fox._

_The civilian wearing them stepped out into the light, walked with purpose towards him. There was no horrifying smile the others had, nor a weapon in either hands. The small Uzumaki never stopped staring at him, blue eyes never leaving the red ones. He didn’t kneel down to reach Naruto’s height, he only whispered one thing that rang clearer than anything else this dream had brought upon. “It seems as if my host isn’t as idiotic as I thought,” A masculine voice muttered out,” Time to wake up, brat.” With that, the red eyes kicked him softly and Naruto could feel energy ripple throughout him._

“Naruto! Naruto, are you okay?” Kakashi’s worried voice is the first thing he hears when opening him eyes. A blurry figure with a mop of silver hair slowly came into focus, revealing Hatake Kakashi looking worriedly down at him.

Kakashi watched with only one eye open, the other shut tightly so the boy wouldn’t see his Sharingan. The mask on his face was wonky, conveying how quickly the 20-year-old had shoved it on to go check on Naruto. “Naruto? You were crying and yelling, is everything okay? Did you have a nightmare?” He asked.

The younger reached out with a shaky hand and pressed it against his own cheek, feeling how wet it was a realising he did in fact cry. The next thing he did was press against his stomach, where no pain was coming from anymore. It must’ve been a dream, a nightmare, he mused to himself before remembering those eyes. The way that they spoke so clearly as if they weren’t apart of whatever horrid mob that was. Naruto had never seen such eyes; he would’ve remembered them. At least he liked to believe so.

“I-I had a nightmare, Kakashi-san,” He mumbled out into the silence,” They were all c-chasing me, but you never came! You never saved me! I was all alone! It hurt, it really hurt, y’know. Then this one guy had really, really red eyes like a fox and he woke me up!” Naruto didn’t know why he was spilling everything to the ANBU, surely, he didn’t want to know, but after spending so long with no one to care he couldn’t help it. He wanted to tell someone, no, needed to. It hurt too much to just wallow over by himself.

Kakashi stiffened at the mention of the eyes. Was it the Kyuubi? Was he the one who gave Naruto the nightmare and only saved him to make him trust him? It sounded like a trick the Nine-Tailed Beast might pull, especially on someone so young and impressionable as its host. Maybe he would mention this to the Sandaime when he went to the Hokage Tower later today to sign the adoption papers for Naruto.

“It’s going to be okay,” He murmured, sitting down on the edge of the futon he had bought Naruto the night before,” You think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?”

Naruto’s bottom lip wobbled at the thought of sleeping after that terrifying dream,” I’m not weak, y’know. I’m not, dattebayo, it was nothing, that nightmare.”

“Naruto,” He made eye contact with the only open eye,” Just because you have nightmares doesn’t mean you’re not strong. I get nightmares all the time too. Everyone does, especially shinobi and I bet even the Hokage does as well.”

The redhead’s eyes widened. “You get nightmares too? But you’re so strong and cool, what could scare you?”

Kakashi chuckled hoarsely,” A lot of things, Naru. A lot. The thought of you being hurt is one of them.”

This made tears threaten to fall from the boy’s eyes, in disbelief that the person before him cared for him as much as he claimed. No one had ever told him that. All he ever got at the orphanage was yells and hit when he did something wrong, none of the other kids ever got the same treatment as him. Out in public, he was looked at as if he was the scum of the entire Elemental Nations and would never amount to anything more. He was barely allowed in any shops, shoved out as the owners said they wouldn’t allow a demon and monster inside and no kids ever wanted to play with him. They all thought the same as their parents.

He was different. Kakashi was different. He didn’t do any of the thing’s others did but instead looked at him with guilt. As though he was sorry for some reason, but Naruto couldn’t think of anything the mask guy had to apologise for. It wasn’t as if Kakashi hurt him too.

“W-Why do you care so much? I’m just an orphan, a nobody.”

“…I knew your parents, Naruto,” Kakashi said solemnly,” I-I was supposed to be there for you from the very start. I hope one day you will be able to forgive me for never telling you anything. I was so stuck in my grief with them dying…I couldn’t bare the thought of having to look after you back then. Now, I plan to make up for all that lost time and make sure you know everything eventually.” He could see Naruto wanted to speak up again, most likely to ask about his dead parents, so he quickly continued talking on. “Now, the best way to get rid of nightmares is to have some Chamomile Tea. It’ll help you sleep and then we will be ready for the morning. Do you want to help me make some?”

Naruto nodded at this,” Yes please, Kakashi-san!”

“Just call me Kakashi.”

* * *

Naruto ran alongside Kakashi, trying to keep up with the longer legs. A bright smile decorated his face as they travelled throughout Konoha, heading towards the Hokage Tower for Kakashi to sign the adoption papers. _Then this would all be forever_ , a thought ran through the boy’s head, _maybe Kakashi might even allow him to call him Tou-san._ That seemed too good to be true for the little boy, however.

The shinobi kept a careful eye on Naruto, making sure no one would do anything to him. Some civilians did send hateful looks towards the red-haired boy but immediately moved on when meeting the glare of the Copy-Nin behind him. As much as they hated the Kyuubi Brat they weren’t about to invoke the wrath of one of the best ninjas this village had to offer upon them.

“After we can get ramen to celebrate!” Naturo rambled as he skipped along, bobbing up and down as he went,” Ichiraku’s is the best place for ramen too! Some times Old Man Teuchi and Ayame-chan even give me some for free when I don’t have any money! There’s even naruto in ramen, how cool is that!”

When they met the Sandaime, Naruto quickly ran up to him to give the old man a big hug and started telling him everything Kakashi and he had already done for the day. It wasn’t a lot, mainly breakfast and finding clothes that fit the skinny boy (Kakashi quickly found out about the unhealthy obsession with orange and managed to get the redhead to tone it down slightly, compromising with black and bits of orange on the clothes). Naruto started waving his hand about as he described the breakfast (“I’ve never even had bacon before, Jiji! It tasted so nice and warm! I didn’t even know food could go warm if it wasn’t ramen.”) and how Kakashi had promised to take him to Ichiraku’s after everything.

“Be careful, Kakashi,” Hiruzen chuckled as the boy slipped off his lap,” Naruto can eat up to eleven bowls of ramen when he wants to. He definitely won’t spare you.” The silver-haired man sweat dropped at that and out of the corner of his eye saw the 6-year-old smirk mischievously. He had a feeling Naruto would make sure to go fully out now, maybe even test his limits to see if he could handle more than eleven bowls. He could already feel his wallet growing lighter and it wasn’t even being used.

The small boy went over to the other side of the room where a chair was located, sitting down tiredly after rushing to meet his Jiji and then excitedly re-enacting everything that had happened.

Hiruzen expression turned serious,” Are you sure you want to take up this responsibility Kakashi? You do realise once this is done you can’t take this back?”

“I understand, sir. I want to adopt Naruto.”

The Hokage opened a draw and brought out a small stack of papers. “It is going to be difficult, Kakashi. The Council are already questioning my decision about letting you do this but I told them it was so you could also help him learn to become a ninja, so you will have to train him. Don’t go hard and mainly keep it light until he begins the Academy. Furthermore, I won’t be allowing Naruto to take your last name. He will stay as Uzumaki so none of your enemies will hopefully connect the dots. If you are fully ready, I need you to sign here. Please recognise that from this day on if you do it, the Council will most likely be against you as most of the believe Naruto to be you-know-what. They think you might influence him, show them that this is wrong and Naruto is loyal to the Village Hidden in the Leaves!”

Kakashi’s gaze hardened as he nodded stiffly,” I swear I will do my best, Hokage-sama.” At this, he picked up the pen he was offered and used it to write down his signature on the dotted line. Seeing his name down in fresh ink suddenly made it seem all the more real now and a wave of relief washed over him. _This was the right thing to do,_ he told himself proudly.

“Well done, Kakashi,” Hiruzen smiled tired,” I will give you less missions now, think about maybe leaving the ANBU someday.” That thought hadn’t even crossed Kakashi’s mind. Of course, he would have to think about going back to Jounin now. Naruto couldn’t be left alone for days on end while he went out on missions he could never come back from. That would have to be sorted out soon, maybe he could leave the ANBU. He had been hiding in the shadows for all too long now.

“Hokage-sama, I would like to talk to you about a nightmare Naruto had,” The Sandaime raised an eyebrow,” In it he was being hurt but apparently saw the Kyuubi’s eyes and they saved him. At least, the way he was describing them to me, they seemed to be of the Kyuubi.”

“Do you believe the Kyuubi could be trying to manipulate Naruto?”

“I’m not sure but I think the situation should be closely monitored for changes.”

The leader of Konoha nodded thoughtfully, inhaling from his pipe he had just taken out,” You can keep an eye on Naruto the most, Kakashi. I want regular updates to know if the Kyuubi is trying to make contact with Naruto, he is too impressionable to know what to do if the beast lied to him. He might even be inclined to believe him from the way he is treated by others.” 

Silence overtook the two men before the little redhead came bounding back over to them, his smile reminding them both of Uzumaki Kushina. “So…is it done yet?” There was another question in his eyes, are you changing your mind?

“Uzumaki Naruto,” The Sandaime Hokage started off looking at the boy with pride written all over his face,” From today, you are now the adopted son of Hatake Kakashi.”

Naruto froze before his smile went even wider, he looked as if he wanted to hug Kakashi but didn’t. The grey-eyed man grinned back at him, kneeling down by one knee and holding out one hand. Naruto slowly edged forward; a hand lifted up as the pace of a snail before resting in his new father’s bigger palm. The size differences made the older chuckle slightly and then the blue-eyed boy surged forward and wrapped his arms around his chest. Kakashi could feel his arms shaking (most likely still not being too fond of physical contact from people he didn’t fully trust) but it showed that Naruto was beginning to trust the shinobi. The older took his time to appreciate the warmth from a hug, not remembering the last time someone had given him one, before bringing his arms up and returning it.

It lasted for a time neither of them knew, both just revelling in the fact someone was there for them now. When they let go, the first this Naruto noticed was a single tear rolling down Kakashi’s cheek and wiped it away with his small hand, smiling blindly to him. “It’s gonna be okay now! We have each other, we can go eat ramen everyday and play in the park like I saw other families do, Tou-san!”

Kakashi’s eye widened at the name, before laughing. “We can, Naru, we can do all of that and more,” He revealed. Naruto’s smile only increased when he realised the silver-haired man didn’t mind him calling him his father. _He now had a family!_ It made his heart beat loudly, happiness coursing through him.

Hiruzen collected the paperwork back in and placed it in one of his desks draws, followed by him telling the new family they could go now and do as they wish.

Naruto grabbed a hold of his father’s hand, dragging them out the door and down the stairs of the Hokage Tower, waving at any ninja they passed by. Most shot an odd look towards Kakashi, wondering what had happened for the Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki and an owner of the Sharingan to end up like that but just ended up shrugging it off and walking away.

As soon as they left the tower, the redhead began going on a rant about the different types of ramen you could get at Ichiraku’s and that the owners didn’t mind how many you asked for either, which Naruto thought was amazing since he liked to eat as much ramen as he could. Kakashi just nodded along to everything he said, finding it funny how much the boy actually knew about ramen. Now only if you could become Hokage by listing off every single ramen flavour and how each one tasted, their exact ingredients and the prices of them at the ramen store in Konoha.

Naruto ran right into the restaurant while the other walked in after him, watching with amusement sparkling in his eye as the boy began telling Ayame and Teuchi all that had happened since he had last visited. They both seemed very shocked at finding out he had been adopted but quickly ended up congratulating and crying with him. As Kakashi slid onto the stool beside the boy, Teuchi began thanking him for everything, shocking the ANBU.

“Thank you so much for deciding to look after Naruto. He’s been coming here for a few years now and it’s nice to see him this happy,” The ramen owner said as he bowed to the ninja,” Please take care of Naruto for us.” His granddaughter crossed her arms and smirked.

“Make sure Naruto eats something other than ramen too! It’s not good for growing boys to only eat this stuff, no matter how tasty it really is!” She lectured despite being a young girl herself.

Naruto gasped loudly,” But ramen is the god’s food! And you’re asking me to give it up!” He ended up yelling out a no as Ayame nodded.

Kakashi just watched, realising that he should’ve done this all the sooner if he was going to get a sunshine like Uzumaki Naruto in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

“Thank you for the ramen!” Naruto shouted as they left the store, waving one arm wildly as a goodbye while Kakashi trailed behind looking defeated.

The man brought out his wallet, opening it and almost weeping. _He ate 12 bowls, not eleven!_ His mind cried out as tears rolled down his face. The Sandaime lied! Or Naruto just really wanted to go all out and see if he could add another to his list.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are we going to do now? Are we going to go to the park? Other families do that and they have fun!”

Kakashi thought it over for a second before nodding,” I suppose we could go for a bit, as long as you promise to eat whatever we have for dinner. And no, it won’t be ramen.” At the boy’s horrified gasp, he laughed quietly, but was thankful he agreed to the terms. Some of Naruto’s closest people wanted him to start eating properly so he would get healthier and better and that was what Kakashi was going to do. Even if he was disappointed at the lack of ramen, at least he would get more meat on his bones and start growing to the normal height of a child his age.

As they slowly approached the park, he could see the redhead getting slower, more apprehensive to enter the gates. Children were seen running around, laughing and playing with each other while their parents watched with smiles from across the park. A few shot the Jinchuuriki glares as they saw him enter but it quickly moulded into surprise at seeing who’s hand he was holding, Kakashi of the Sharingan.

“What do you want to do first, Naru?”

The boy looked around him, squeezing Kakashi’s hand tighter as some of the stares,” Can we go on the swing? Could you push me?” At the nod, Naruto dragged his new father over to the small wooden swing that was a bit away from everyone else. After sitting down on it and grabbing a hold of the rope, he was ready to be pushed. Kakashi watched with a small smile on his face as the 6-year-old wriggled in excitement.

Leaning down, he pushed the swing lightly, and found himself loving the sound of Naruto’s laughs and giggles as he went higher before coming back down to be pushed again. This kid should’ve already known what it felt like to have fun at the park, should’ve already had many friends. It was only a shame he was learning so late but a part of Kakashi was glad it was him who got to experience it with Naruto and not some random people who didn’t care for the boy.

“Higher! Higher, Tou-san!”

Kakashi responded but pushed harder, the swing picking up speed and launching further up than it had gone previously. He didn’t bother looking behind him, feeling the odd looks and frowns they both were receiving. It seems as though it would take a while until shinobi and civilian alike would stop staring at the two, hell, Kakashi himself would probably get pulled into the fray of demons and monsters. All he could hope for was that people would stop calling Naruto that, that was all that mattered.

* * *

Naruto wandered around the park, wondering what to do next. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing his Tou-san reading an orange book and looking up to wave at the boy. He smiled brightly back before walking over to the tree line. It was then he heard yelling and what sounded like crying.

“If you’re really a Hyuuga, then show us your Byakugan!”

The red-haired boy peeked from around a tree to see three older looking boys surrounding one small, short purple-haired girl. She had almost pure lavender eyes, which Naruto thought were sooo cool, and her hair was such a pretty colour to him.

“But if you’re not gonna, don’t look at us. Your eyes are creepy.”

“I bet you’re some kind of monster, aren’t you? Byakugan monster!”

The girl began to cry, her hands covering her eyes and face and she dropped to the ground, probably hoping that the bullies would go away. They didn’t, only laughed as they watched her break down on the ground below them.

Naruto bit his bottom lip; he wasn’t going to let another kid get called a monster. He knew how much it hurt and he definitely didn’t want anyone else to be called that.

Running out into the small clearing, he yelled,” Hey, cut it out! She’s not a monster!” He pointed a finger at them, mustering up the meanest glare he could. One of the bullies only laughed at him while the other two went to stand in front of the girl blocking her from sight.

“Yeah, she is. Look at her eyes! She’s a Byakugan monster!”

Naruto only huffed and crossed his arms,” Shut up! You’re only a bunch of bullies who think your better cause you’re older! Plus, I think her eyes are cool! At least they aren’t boring like yours!”

Another boy took a step towards him, raising a fist as if intending to hit the 6-year-old. “You think you’re any better than her! I bet you are a monster too! Isn’t that what all the adults say?” Naruto stilled.

It was a short moment before he spoke again,” I may be a monster but she isn’t! If you hurt her, I’ll beat you up!”

They all scoffed then and one laughed,” You think you could beat us? We’re in the Academy, loser! We could easily kill-.” He stopped speaking, now staring at the space a bit higher than Naruto before gulping. “We’re sorry! We didn’t mean anything, lets get out of here!” Then they all ran away, not from Naruto, but from the silver haired man glaring behind him holding a kunai and sharpening it. When the redhead turned to see what got then so scared, he saw nothing and shrugged. _They must’ve seen how strong he was,_ he thought with a proud grin.

Naruto then ran up to the purple-haired girl, kneeling down beside her. “Are you okay?”

A few tears were rolling from her eyes as she sat up, sniffing loudly. “Y-Yeah, they n-normally d-do that,” She whispered out, rubbing her eyes.

“What’s your name? I’m Uzumaki Naruto and I’m gonna be Hokage, dattebayo!” He introduced himself.

“H-Hyuuga H-Hinata, nice t-to m-meet you N-Naruto-kun,” She bowed her head slightly to the red-haired boy.

“Wow, you sure do stutter a lot,” At this she eeped but the boy quickly waved his hands about,” Not that it’s a bad thing, y’know! Like I get really, really scared whenever someone tries to touch me after this one time I got beat up but that’s okay! I’m getting better, we can both together!” Hinata blushed slightly but nodded her head anyway, maybe she could get a friend outside of the clan. “Wanna meet my Tou-san? I’ve only had him for a bit but I’m sure he’ll like you!”

Despite not getting an answer from the shy girl, he reached out a hand and with little hesitation grabbed onto hers. Naruto brought them both out the small clearing in the woods away from the park and saw Kakashi sitting under a tree a bit away with his orange book still out. Pulling her in that direction, he began shouting,” Tou-san! Tou-san!”

Kakashi looked up from his book and smiled at the sight. The Hyuuga’s eyes widened at realising this was the man who scared away the bullies. Just as she was about to thank him, he lifted a finger up to his lips and hushed. Not understanding, she only tilted her head, but it then made sense when Naruto began babbling on about what had happened.

“Hey, Tou-san, you’ll never guess what just happened! This is Hinata and she was getting hurt by these jerks so I scared them away! They got real frightened and ran screaming!” Hinata started to blush and began twiddling her two fingers around each other, looking at the ground in embarrassment.

The silver-haired man chuckled as he shut his book and slid it into one of his jacket pouches. “Did you? Well I’m very proud of you for standing up for Hinata-chan, that was the right thing to do,” He did an eye smile,” Why don’t you two play with each other for a bit longer? I’m sure that will be fun.”

Naruto nodded rapidly before turning to Hinata,” What do you want to play? I’ve only ever gone on the swing so I don’t really know anything else.”

In the end, they both settled on the swing. Hinata sat on it nervously, waiting for Naruto to push it. The redhead put his hands out and pushed on the wooden swing, the same way his saw his father do it, and watched as his new friend rose slightly. It never went as high as Kakashi could make it go, he wasn’t nearly as strong enough to push someone yet. He was only 6 after all.

It didn’t matter how high up she went, Hinata was loving just having a friend to play with. No one evert wanted to play with her in the clan. They all thought she was weak, useless and pathetic because she was having too much trouble learning the Gentle Fist style all Hyuuga’s specialized in. In addition to that, the girl still found it took a lot of chakra to even get her Byakugan to work. She was a hopeless case. She was meant to be the next Clan Head and couldn’t even do anything in her training properly.

However, here Naruto didn’t seem to know who she was. He only cared about having her as a friend and playing with her. He didn’t care or get scared of her practically white eyes like all those other kids did. Even he was called a monster, something Hinata couldn’t wrap her head around. _How could any one think of Naruto-kun as a monster? He’s so kind and cares about me!_ A small blush scattered across her cheeks at that thought and made her grip the rope tighter.

“Hey, Hinata, why are your eyes like that?” Naruto asked as the swing came to a stop, running around to be in her line of vision.

The girl shrunk into herself before explaining,” It’s a-apart of m-my c-clans j-j-justu. W-We have t-the Byakugan.”

“Wow, that sounds cool! I wish I had some cool power but all I have is red hair,” He replied glumly, sitting on the grass. Hinata got off the swing and after a moment she sat down beside him, quietly.

“I-I really l-like your hair N-Naruto-kun,” She stuttered, the red on her cheeks growing as she watched his eyes widen in surprise.

Naruto then rubbed the back of his neck with one hand,” You think so? I really, really like your hair, y’know. Its all purple and cute!” At this he raised a hand, which Hinata could easily tell was shaking. Noticing his intentions, she brought hers out and gently touched his own hand. She could feel the tan hand shaking massively but only guided it up to her short hair. When placing it there, she dropped her own limb and let Naruto pet her hair.

He sent a wide smile towards her as he felt her hair. It was all soft and smooth, unlike his own which was spiky and stood out in different ways. It made Naruto wonder if everyone in her clan had the same hair as Hinata, that would be amazing! Imagine all Hyuuga’s running around with her hair! He giggled slightly before letting his hand drop from the girl’s head.

The sky was now a colour that reminded Naruto of the night before. Like a painting full of abstract colours and meshed together to create something beautiful (like Hinata’s hair, he imagined). Yesterday, he was being hurt by people all around him but now he had his very own dad and even a friend! Maybe everything would be better on from now. He would go to the Academy, become a super strong ninja and then become Hokage! Then everyone in the Village Hidden in the Leaves would have to respect him and no one would want to go out of their way to shout or beat him anymore. He let out a sigh, he couldn’t wait for that day to come.

“Hinata, lets be friends forever!”

This made the poor girl freeze. Her eyes widened drastically as she heard the words and found her cheeks heating up. “L-Lets be friends N-Naruto-kun,” She smiled shyly at the red-haired boy, closing her eyes as she did so.

“Are you gonna become a ninja?” He asked, watching the sky change colours slowly as sunset started to settle in. When she nodded he grinned. “Lets both be really strong ninjas! I’m gonna be Hokage, what do you want to be?”

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows slightly at the question. Everyone had always told her she would end up being Clan Head anyway (however that was before training even began and when they thought she had the potential to do so) but now she had no idea. “I-I don’t know N-Naruto-kun, I a-am meant t-to be Clan H-Head someday,” She told him, watching as a thoughtful look went across his face.

“Do you want to be Clan Head?”

“I’m n-not s-sure yet,” She replied.

The boy nodded,” Well I’m sure whatever you end up being you’ll be amazing at it and together we’ll be awesome!” The sky had started to go darker and that meant they would both have to leave the park for the day, in more detail, leave each other. Naruto didn’t want to let his only friend go just yet. What if she never showed up again and he would have to go back to being all alone once more? He shook his head stubbornly, _no! Hinata wouldn’t do that, and Tou-san would help me find her anyway!_ That was his resolution.

“Hinata-sama, it’s time to go home now. Your father is expecting you,” A man with the same eyes Hinata had walked up to them, not giving the boy next to her a second glance as he folded his arms across his chest.

“I-I’ve got to go Naruto-kun, g-goodnight,” The purple-haired 6-year-old stood up, giving him a small wave before running up to the Branch family member,” I’ll s-see you s-soon!”

“Bye Hinata! See you soon!” Naruto yelled out, eyes never leaving Hinata until she and her bodyguard had turned the corner after exiting the park, then his smile left his face and the boy felt like just falling to sleep. He was tired after everything that had been done today, between getting adopted by Kakashi to saving Hinata from bullies and then playing with her until the sun went down. Who knew someone could have so much fun all in one day?

Kakashi seemed to appear out of nowhere, making him yelp in shock. “Ready to head home, Naru?” The redhead looked up at his father and nodded.

“Can you carry me, Tou-san?”

He bent down slightly and Naruto jumped onto his back, wrapping his arms around Kakashi’s neck loosely as the man grasped onto his short legs. “Ready to go?” Naruto nodded and they both set off, walking past a few parents who were also telling their own children it was time to leave and have dinner.

Naruto cherished the warm, bubbly feeling in his chest as he snuggled into his father’s neck feeling less cold there as the sun went out of view. He didn’t even bother looking around as they walked back to Kakashi’s apartment, his home, and blocked out the whispers all around him from civilians. The boy felt a smile work its way up onto his lips as he heard Kakashi unlock the front door and let them both inside.

As soon as the door shut behind then, Naruto slid down the man’s back before bounding off into the kitchen. Kakashi watched as the boy tried to open the fridge with both hands, barely making in budge despite the force he put into it. “I’m going to make some Katsu Curry, have you ever had it before?” At Naruto shaking his head, Kakashi went on to explain how to make it, showing the steps as he got it prepared. “It can be a bit spicy so be careful,” He also said as they finished making it.

Naruto nodded, before digging straight into his food like a rabid animal who had been starved for days. His blue eyes widened at the taste before eating it even more quickly, finishing it off before asking for seconds. It made Kakashi glad he decided to make double the amount.

“Naruto, how would you feel about me training you to become a ninja? I know the Academy starts when you are 8 but would you like me to start you off now?” The boy was now looking at him with stars in his eyes,” I won’t be teaching you too dangerous techniques but I have a lot of enemies out there who would want to use your connection to me as a way to get revenge so you need to be able to defend yourself. Just mainly Taijutsu, stealth and tracking. This way if you ever get taken, you should be able to hopefully help yourself and get out. How does that sound?”

“Can you teach me cool jutsus as well? Can I learn that teleporting thingy you do, like that one time yesterday when we when to see Jiji? That’s so cool! Or maybe one where I can have unlimitated ramen? Now that would be amazing!” Naruto seemed to mostly forget about his food from then on, too excited to start training early to become a ninja than eat the food Kakashi had spent his time making.

“Now, we can talk all about this in the morning. You go get ready for bed while I clean up,” Kakashi suggested.

Naruto jumped up yelling,” Okay, Tou-san!” And Kakashi’s heart melted slightly at hearing it.


	4. Chapter 4

“That was very good, next time make sure to hold your stance more grounded,” Kakashi lectured as he watched Naruto go over stances in the Basic Academy Taijutsu. Now, the man normally held a loathing for that style. Everyone knew it which made it easy to beat if you had the style memorised. However, it was a good starting point. It would tell Kakashi whether Naruto preferred a more grounded style, one based on speed, one of flexibility or perhaps a style based on strength alone.

At the moment, Kakashi had a feeling it was leaning more towards speed and flexibility. It reminded him so much of Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee, it hurt but also made him beam with pride. Minato-sensei’s style was all focused around speed and outmatching his opponent in that area of expertise while also relying on strength while Kushina-nee preferred flexibility as that was more commonly used in Uzumaki styles. From what she had told Kakashi when alive, shinobi in Uzushio learnt a Taijutsu style which centred around that as well as strength. It was used to represent the swirling whirlpools surrounding the island and show off how fierce they were. Both styles wee formidable and took a lot to beat some who was proficient in them.

He hoped one day he could manage to get his hands on the scrolls teaching those styles and give them to Naruto.

“That was a lot better,” Kakashi clapped his hands as he saw Naruto perfectly execute one stance,” If you can do a few more like that I’ll let you take a break soon.” Determination shone in Naruto’s blue eyes now, putting more force into each of his movements. It wasn’t even lunch yet, them barely being at it for three hours now. A part of Kakashi wanted to enlist the help of Maito Gai from the amount of stamina the 6-year-old was showing but immediately dismissed that idea – shuddering at the thought of seeing his son in a matching outfit to his ‘Eternal Rival’. No way was he going to do that, at least not anytime soon and definitely after talking with Naruto about the importance of not wearing green spandex and orange legwarmers. Oh god, Naruto would just go fully orange with it too.

The Copy-Nin quickly tried to get that disgusting image out of his mind, nearly on the verge of taking Naruto and never letting him leave the apartment so Gai would never find him. Naruto was too precious to be tainted by that Taijustu junkie. Too pure.

Half an hour later, they were both sitting on the grass in the middle of Training Ground’s 8, both of them going over how to help Naruto improve his stances and to get better. “I can do it, I know I can,” The red-haired boy huffed as he leaned back against the wooden post, panting slightly,” I can do it.”

“I know you will be able to do it,” Kakashi nodded along,” But no one is going to learn basic Taijutsu in one day, it takes a while for your body to remember it and for it to become like second nature to you. For you already to get this far after only spending hours on it is great.”

At this, Naruto beamed widely, before getting back up onto his feet to continue the practice. The silver-haired man was about to join him when a bid flew down beside him. Noticing the Konoha emblem on the scroll attached to its foot, Kakashi carefully took it off and unravelled the scroll. His eye flew over the page before a sigh left his lips. The bird had long flied away by now.

Kakashi got to his feet and went over to his adopted son,” Naruto, I have to go on a mission now.”

The boy stopped what he was doing and frowned slightly,” B-But can’t you say no?”

He grimaced at the thought of declining the Hokage’s orders,” Sorrt, Naru, but this is a very important mission which will help Konoha. Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you alone. I know a Chunnin who normally looks after your friend, she owes me a favour so she’ll look after you for the rest of the day.”

“O-Okay, lets go find Hinata!”

* * *

It only took them a few minutes to find a black-haired woman walking alongside the vey familiar Hyuuga Hinata. They were both in the village, wandering the streets seemingly going nowhere.

“Hey, Hinata!” Naruto shouted out, running towards the girl, shocking her as he stopped only a bit away,” I’ve missed you!”

Hinata’s face darkened at the words,” I-I’ve missed you t-too, Naruto-kun.”

The woman to her side narrowed her red eyes at seeing the Kyuubi container. Now, she didn’t hate him per say, or blame the boy for anything, but he was loud. Loud and annoying, and had now somehow befriended the Hyuuga Heiress.

“Yo, Yuhi-san,” Looking back up she saw Hatake Kakashi walking up to them, one hand in a pocket while the other waved at her.

Yuhi Kurenai now found herself more confused. “Hello, Hatake-san,” She replied, bowing her head down. Afterall, she was only a Chunnin and he was supposedly in the ANBU. It was very clear who was the superior in the situation.

“Maa, maa, just call me Kakashi,” He said as he stopped moving, Hinata and Naruto both in between the two, talking quietly.

“Then call me Kurenai, Kakashi-san,” The woman smiled stiffly, standing in the same way too.

Kakashi eye smiled,” You don’t mind me cashing in that favour you owe me?” At seeing no response, he continued speaking. “I’ve just been called in on aa mission and I need someone to look after my son. I should only be gone for the rest of today and be back tonight. Is that okay?”

“Y-You have a son?!”

“Maa, no need to be so surprised,” The man chuckled as he waved one hand dismissively,” Here he is, little Naruto.”

Kurenai glanced down to see the redhead talk happily about ramen, exclaiming how he wanted to try this new flavour when he next got to go to Ichiraku’s. “Naruto’s your son?”

“Adopted, but yes. Thank you! Got to go now, bye! Naruto be nice!” And with that all that was left of Kakashi was leaves falling to the ground as he completed the Shunshin. The red eyed woman bit her lip to avoid yelling out any curses and obscenities, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

When she looked back at the children, she was surprised at seeing them staring right back at her, seemingly already finished their conversation about ramen and foods along that line. Naruto was glancing back at the spot his adoptive father had just been, Kurenai then realising they probably haven’t actually been separated yet since. She was well aware on how the boy before her way treated, but from orders off the Sandaime no shinobi was allowed to show any connection to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Her guess was that Hatake was the first to break it and decided to go all the way and adopted the poor kid too…which wouldn’t make much sense as he was known to keep to himself and not let people get close since practically ever.

“Okay, I can do this. It’s just one more child, what harm can be done? It’s only for a day,” She told herself before finally speaking to the kids,” I’m Yuhi Kurenai, Naruto, and I’m going to be looking after you for the day. Is that fine for you?”

Naruto took his eyes off the fallen leaves and made eye contact with her red ones. “Y-Yeah, that’s okay. Tou-san will be back soon, won’t he?”

The puppy eyes he made caused the Chunnin to want to bring him into a hug and squeeze the life out of him. How could anyone willingly hate on this adorable boy? And how dare Kakashi get to him first! It didn’t help that she never thought she’d ever hear someone call that ninja their father, who knew he had a soft spot for little red-haired children? Kurenai never thought she would live to see the day Kakashi would end up like this, it almost felt as if she had walked up into a goldmine. Imagine the blackmail she would have against him! No way would he want anyone else to know he was soft.

(Later when Kakashi did get back and she said this all he told her was “Who wouldn’t be soft for Naru?” before promptly walking off and, dammit, she knew how right he was. There was no way she was getting blackmail on the Copy-Ninja)

“Yep, Kakashi will be back tonight. Until then you’re stuck with us,” She chuckled slightly,” So, what do you two want to do for the rest of the day?”

“Oooh, can we go to the park?” Naruto stuck his hand up, trying to get the shinobi’s attention that he already had.

Hinata only whispered,” But N-Naruto-kun, w-we were there y-yesterday.”

The boy placed a hand under his chin and rubbed it, thinking of were they could go. He only ended up sighing as he fell to the floor,” I have no idea what we should do! Argh!”

A few civilians looked at the red-haired boy in disgust, going over to the other side of the street to stay as far away as possible from him, all whispering loud enough for the three to hear. Naruto only stopped making noise, sitting up and being quiet. Hinata looked at all the people in confusion, why were they calling him a demon? The ninja gritted her teeth as she tried to block out the words. It was even worse than when she went out with Mitarashi Anko who was called all those things just because of who her sensei was. Kurenai found herself almost reaching for the kunai in her tool pouch, wanting everyone to stop looking at the blue-eyed boy as if he was about to turn into the Nine-Tailed Beast, as if he were it.

Dropping her hand, the Chunnin grabbed onto Naruto’s shoulder to try help him up. “W-Wait, d-don’t do-!” The young Hyuuga’s words didn’t reach her before she touched him.

Naruto stilled; his eyes glossed over.

_(There’s the demon, grab it!)_

_(We’ll tie it up, torture it, then finally kill it for all that beast has done! It killed our families, our ninja and our Hokage! Just because it looks like a boy, doesn’t mean it is!)_

_(Finally, I can avenge my daughter. She was only a month old when you killed her! Took my husband down with her too! You monster.)_

_(Get out of this orphanage! I can’t believe Hokage-sama even let you live, disgusting creature.)_

Flashes kept coming, noise blurring out around him as he felt the hand on his shoulder. The voices, they were all there. All yelling at him, reminding him of what he was. What Kakashi had tried to tell him he wasn’t. He could faintly see a pair of lavender eyes but his mind couldn’t make the connection of what or who they belonged to.

He was gasping for air, throat feeling jammed and barely being able to breath. No amount of oxygen was working. He just couldn’t breathe. Slowly, black spots began to cover his eyesight. It made the mean people disappear, no more pain and then…nothing.

* * *

Yuhi Kurenai had never considered a child would faint if she touched them. In all honesty, from what she had just witnessed then, it almost seemed as if he experienced a panic attack along with flashbacks. Her chest tightened at the thought of such a young boy being that afraid of something because of memories. That was something seen in veteran shinobi and ones who had been through a war. It should not be seen in Uzumaki Naruto who hadn’t even begun training at the Academy yet. Something told her that it was the very same people around them who called him all those names were the ones to make him experience such painful memories.

“I-I’m s-sorry, Kurenai-san. I-I forgot to t-tell you N-Naruto-kun is a-afraid of p-physical c-contact,” The purple-haired girl bowed her head, hoping no one would be able to tell she had tears running down her chubby cheeks.

The Chunnin only waved her off,” It’s fine, Hinata. It was my fault, but first let’s get out of the street and get Naruto somewhere safe. My apartment should do.”

Just as she was about to agree, a shadow covered her. Looking up, Hinata saw another woman. This one had lighter purple hair compared to her own and wore provocative clothing, practically showing off her assets in the see-through top she was wearing.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here, Kurenai?” The woman asked as she moved around Hinata, her trench coat flapping behind her,” Wow, I know you’re ugly but to think you knocked a kid unconcoius with it. Damn.”

The black-haired woman narrowed her eyes at seeing her friend. It was definitely not the right time to have two of the village’s most hated in one area. The looks the odd group were receiving only multiplied with Mitarashi Anko here. “Anko,” She rolled her eyes at how dramatic the woman was being,” Why are you here?”

“What? I can’t greet my friend when I see her on the streets?” The brown eyed woman then let out a scoff,” I saw him faint. What can I say, I got interested? So…what’s wrong with him?” She was able to pick up what a few civilians were saying around them, first thinking they were talking about her before taking a full look at the boy. “Oh, its Uzumaki.”

“Naruto-kun i-is afraid of p-physical c-contact,” The 6-year-old girl piped in, stuttering and blushing slightly when Anko turned her gaze to her,” H-He told m-me.”

“Oh shit, well who knew the kid who went around sprouting about becoming Hokage couldn’t handle this?”

Kurenai jabbed her. “Stop it, Anko. I know its obvious to you, and to me, why Naruto is scared of that. Surely you must understand at least a portion of what is happening to him?”

This made the purple-haired woman stop short, a hand unconsciously going up to the side of her neck. Pulling it away, she nodded tightly. Ever since her sensei was declared a Missing-Nin, civilians and shinobi would look at her in fear. Scared that she was just another Orochimaru in the making and would eventually go insane and start experimenting on kids like he did. No one cared at the fact she was one of the experimented kids, only thinking of her becoming like that man. No one dared come near her half the time, thinking she would lash out at anything. Anko only had a few precious people, just like Uzumaki Naruto, because of the way she was treated by others.

Sighing, Anko bent down and picked up the redhead’s limp body. “Come on, my place is closer than yours is,” She thrust her head in the direction of it.

“I thought you lived in the middle of the Forest of Death?” The Genjutsu Mistress, Kurenai, asked as she gently took Hinata.s hand and urged her to follow along and that her friend was going to be okay.

That statement seemed to make the fellow Chunnin scoff. “I tried, trust me, but apparently I can’t live there as it’s too dangerous. That is according to the Sandaime at least, thinks I can’t live in there. I mean- I’m fucking 18!” Kurenai winced as she continued her rant, trying her best to cover the heiress’ ears every time Anko spat out a swear. She really didn’t want to get the wrath of the Hyuuga’s on her because Hinata learnt how to curse when she was out with her. “Anyway, why have you got Uzumaki with you?”

“His father cashed in a favour,” Was the glum reply.

“He has a dad? I thought he was an orphan?”

“Got adopted, and you’ll never guess who by,” Kurenai stopped speaking, leaving her friend waiting, before blurting out,” Hatake Kakashi.”

Anko seemed to stop short at that, her mouth hanging open as she processed the information. “Wasn’t expecting that. Never thought I’d see the day Hatake took in a kid,” A grin then took over her lips,” It’s such a shame. Do you think he’ll be up for one-night stands? He has a fine piece of ass and I want to know what’s under that mask!” Kurenai slammed her hands over Hinata’s ears the entire time Anko spoke, her own face turning red at the brown eyed woman thinking out loud about how big Kakashi would be.

Kurenai almost thanked whatever gods existed when they arrived at Anko’s apartment complex, no longer having to listen to the 18-year-old rant on about wanting to get it on with the only remaining Hatake. It was…disturbing to say the last.

As soon as they got inside her apartment, Anko carefully dropped the unconscious Naruto onto her couch, watching him for a second longer to make sure he didn’t fall off or something stupid before turning to the other two females now in her small home. “You should probably to ready to find Hatake as soon as his mission is over. He will need to know where this tomato is,” Anko pointed out to her fellow ninja and Chunnin,” You should also take the Hyuuga home before.”

“Kakashi-san said he would be getting back tonight so I’m assuming its close by,” Kurenai supplied before turning to Hinata,” I’m sorry we have to cut this short today, Hinata. Let’s get you home.”

As soon as the door shut behind them, Anko sat down in a chair nearby the young boy. Giving him one last glance before taking out her weapons to sharpen, she muttered,” Hatake may even thank me, that bastard. Always going off reading those porn books…the stories are always good though…”


End file.
